Car-door arrangement



W. E. WINE.

CAR DOOR ARRANGEMENT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 28. 1922.

Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

WINE

Wwnmm E.

after nu Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM E. WINE, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

CAR-DOOR ARRANGEMENT.

Application filed .Tu1y 28,

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM E. WINE, a citizen of the United States, residin at T0- ledo, in the county of Lucas and btate of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Arrangements, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a door arrangement for railway cars or the like, and has among its objects to provide an improved arrangement of doors and door spreaders, or door supporting arms. Another object is to provide a door and a door supporting beam with brackets arranged between the beam and the door in a manner to effectively and economically tie the door to the beam. Another object is to provide, in combination with a door, a door supporting beam extending therebeneath the door having downturned flanges, and with spacing brackets arranged between the beam and the door in such manner as to tie the two parts together without cutting away or interrupting any of the door flanges. A still further object is to provide a door arrangement that will not extend beyond the clearance limits of the car, and one of sturdy design and economical arrangement of material.

With such objects in view, the invention consists of the formation, combination and arrangements of parts aswill be herein described and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which show a preferred form of the invention, Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section through a portionof a car body equipped with a door constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevationalview, of the lower portion of the same car. Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through a portion of the door and the door. spreader, this view being taken substantially onthe line 33 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section similarto Figure 3, but taken on the line 44 of Figure 1. Figure 5 is an end elevational view of the door bracket shown in cross section in Figure 3, this figure showing also the adjacent portions of the door spreader and the door." Figure 6 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the outermost portion of the door spreader, this figure showing also the adjacent. portionof the vdoor.

Referring to these drawings the side of the car is indicated by the numeral 1. At

1922. Serial No. 578,074.

2 is indicated the lower end of one of the customary side stakes. This stake is shown as spaced somewhat away from the side of the car, there being a spacing bracket 3 interposed between the lower end of the stake and the outer face of the car side. By this means there is provided a protected space for the accomodation of the door-supporting mechanism Where it may be located Within the clearance limits of the car. A portion of the center sill construction of the car is indicated at the right hand end of Figure 1, this including a fragment of one of the ordinary center sill channels 4, and reinforcing angle .5.

The car shown is of the well known type which is supplied with one or more pairs of doors. Such a. pair of doors is indicated in the drawings by the numerals 6 and 7. These doors are arranged to lie, when closed, with their free edges 8 and 9 substantially in contact with each other. Such doors are usually hinged along their remote edges to thecar body. The hinges are indicated in the drawings at 3 1 andmay be of any of the customary and well known types.

The doors are preferably inclined, from a higher level at their hinged edges to a lower level at the contacting free edges of the doors. This not only adds to the carrying capacity the-car, but aiso makes the doors more accessible and makes them easier to close, inasmuch as it is not necessary to lift the doors to a fully horizontal position.

The doors may be closed by any means, but are preferably raised by hand to nearly closed positions where they may be temporarily supported by the preliminary supporting ledges 10 of the door supporting hooks 11, which are pivoted to the outer face of the car at 12. Brackets 13 may be utilized to overlie the door hooks, and pawls 1 1 may be supplied to hold the hooks from disengagement with the doors. Rivets 15 may be supplied for securing the hooks 11, the brackets 13, and the pawls 14 to the car bod T e side ofthe car is carried down as at 1.6 to follow the slope of the closed positions of the doors, and a similarly shaped reinforcing plate 17 is preferably applied to the side of the car, as by means of rivets 18, to locally stiffen the car side where the door supporting mechanisms are applied to it. The stiffening plate 17 may be outwardly flanged, as at 19, to form a sealing shoulder and flange, against which the doors-may seat. A similar reinforcing plate'2O may be applied to form a sealing means at the inner end of the doors. This may be attached to aplate 21 which constitutes a hood to protect thecenter sill of the car from injury from the contact of the lading. An angle iron 22 may be utilized to frame the parts 20'and 21 to the center sill channel 4. v

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the door is shown as extending for substantially one half of the width of the car, the

' other acrossthe car, it is customary to supply a door spreader, or door supporting beam, such as 24 to which two doors are secured, one of the same being arrai'iged at each side of the center sill. of the car. This beam in the present embodiment extends for the full width of the car, the ends of the beam extending outwardly beyond the sides of the car, to there cooperate with the door supporting mechanism heretofore described. The door beam 24 is preferably formed of a flanged section, such as the channel iron shown in the drawings. This form of beam is preferred in order that greater stiffness may be supplied for the doors and also in order that the upper flange of the beam may extend substantially at right angles to the web of the section, so that certain brackets and reinforcing members. may be best applied to the beam 24, and also so that the ends of the beam'24 may serve as fulcrums for a door-closing lever.

The beam 24 is located beneath the doors to which it is attached, and is preferably spaced a suitable distance therefrom to allow the clown-turning of the flanges 23 where they passa'bove the doorbeam 24. By this means the flanges may be extended continuously and uninterruptedly across the beam 24. It has often been the practice to cut awaythesefiflanges topermit the passage of the beam 24, 'andthis gives a point of weakness in the door where cracks frequently begin. I L

i order to properly support the door upon the beam, gusset like brackets 25 and 26 are arranged between the door and the beam. The bracket 25 is formed of a bent p'late,'the lower leg 27 thereof being secured to the top flangeof the beam 24 and also to the top flange of a reinforcing angle 28, by means of the rivets 29.. The reinforcing angle 28 is secured to'the web of 'beam'24by .means of the rivets 30. The bracket 25 being formed of a bent plate, it has but'little stiffness in one direction, but forms a sturdy gusset in the opposite direction. The upper leg 31 of this bracket is riveted directly to the door plateby means of the rivets 32, and the bracket is so disposed. that it provides great stilfness for the door against movement of the same crosswise of the door-sup porting beam 24.

The bracket 26 is located at the inner end of the door and is secured directly to the web of the beam 24 by means of the rivets 33. This bracket is also formed of a steel plate with a leg 35 formed at the upper edge of the bracket. Rivets 36 unite this leg of the bracket 26 directly to the doorplate. This bracket being also formed of a bent plate, it has great stiffness in one direction, but is not stiff in the other direction, although its stiffness may be increased by the use of the corrugation 37 shown in the drawings. It, however, is secured to the beam 24 and to the door in a direction where it will efi'ec tively resist movement of the door lengthwise of the beam 24.

By this means a very economical form of will be effective to stay the door in one direction and the other bracket will be effective to stay it in a direction at right angles thereto.

Short sections of angle iron 28 are preferably applied to the outer ends of the beams 24, and the main supporting ledge 38 of the hook 111 is arranged to seat beneath'the horizontal leg of this angle. The vertical leg ofthe angle lies against the back of the channel beam 24 and is secured thereto by means of the rivets 3O heretofore mentioned.

The channel beams 24 are preferably arranged so that the flanges thereof face each other when the doors are in closed position. By thismeans, and by arranging the door beams so that both the ends thereof extend outwardly beyond the side ofthe car, a doorclosing lever 39'may be utilized to force the doors from partly closed to fully closed positions. For exampleflf both doors are supported upon the preliminary supporting ledges 1.0, the point of the lever 39 may be inserted beneath the upper flang'e'of one of the channels 24, the lever fulcruming upon the top of'the other channel beam 24. By bearing downupon the outer end of the lever 39, the door 6 (see Figure 2) will be forced upward,-and the ledge 38 of thehook 'I-naybe seated beneath the horizontal leg of'theangle Ihe lever may be changed to the opposite posit-ionto close the door 7.

I have thus deseribed'ga preferred embodiment of -my invention. Other embodiments are contemplated, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a railway car, a drop door hinged to the car body, a door supporting and stiffening beam extending beneath the door and being spaced slightly therefrom, and a plurality of gussets connecting the door and the beam, some thereof being arranged substantially at right angles to the direction of the others.

2. In combination with a drop door for railway cars, a stiffening member extending beneath the door and being spaced slightly therefrom, a pair of door supporting and stiffening brackets extending between the door and the stiffening member, both thereof being formed and arranged to provide direct support for the door, and one thereof being formed and arranged to stay the door against movement lengthwise of the said stiffening member and the other against movement crosswise thereof.

3. In combination with a drop door for railway cars, a stiffening member formed of a section having a flange and a web, the said member extending beneath the door and being spaced slightly therefrom, a pair of gusset-like brackets arranged to support the door upon the stiffening member, one there of being disposed to hold the door against movement lengthwise of the stiffening memher and the other against movement crosswise thereof, one of said brackets being secured to the flange and the other to the web of the said stiffening member.

4;. In combination with a drop door for railway cars having an out-turned marginal flange, a stiffening member extending beneath the door and being spaced therefrom a sufficient distance to clear the said flange,

and door-supporting brackets attached to the stiffening member and to the door, the same being arranged to hold the door and the stiffening member in the said spaced relationship and also to hold the door against movement lengthwise or crosswise of the stiffening member.

5. In combination with a drop door for railway cars, a flanged door-supporting beam extending beneath the door and being spaced slightly therefrom, the end of the beam extending outward beyond the side of the car and being there provided with means arranged to cooperate with a door securing mechanism, the said means including a reinforcing member secured to a flange of the said beam, and a spacing bracket extending between the beam and the door near the end of the beam, the same being affixed to a flange of the beam and to the said reinforcing member.

6. A railway car having a pair of doors hinged along their remote edges to the car body and arranged to lie when closed with their free edges substantially together, doorsupporting beams secured to each door and arranged to extend outwardly beyond the edges of the doors and beyond the side of the car, door-supporting hooks pivoted upon the side of the car and arranged to supportingly engage the extended ends of the beams, the extended ends of the beams being formed of flanged sections disposed with the flanges facing each other when the doors are in closed positions and being so arranged that the end of a removable door-closing lever may be seated beneath the flange of one door beam and the lever fulcrumed upon the beam of the other door to pry the door from a partly closed to a fully closed position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM E. WINE. 

